12-Feb-2026

TrueAllele ID at AAFS

Imagine an investigative DNA database for property crime that eliminated “unsearchable mixtures.” That improvement would double evidence leads from 40% to 80%. And that’s exactly the increase seen with the TrueAllele Investigative Database (TA-ID) in a Montgomery County, Pennsylvania pilot study.

In February 2026, Lt. Edward Schikel and Dr. Mark Perlin presented a talk on “Turning unsearchable mixtures into actionable intelligence for reliable DNA evidence” at the American Academy of Forensic Sciences (AAFS) meeting in New Orleans, LA. Their twenty-minute narrated PowerPoint presentation is publicly available.

DNA should not just solve crimes after the fact. The science should help police identify patterns earlier, intervene sooner, and better protect the communities they serve. By uniquely using all the DNA data, TrueAllele databases can help prevent crime.